Display and dispensing means



Aug. 24, 1943.' E. EzRoL 2,327,878

DISPLAY AND D'IsPENsING MEANS Filed Feb. 1, 1941 2 She'e'tsV-Sheet 1 Aug. 24, 1943. E. EzRol- I y DISPLAY AND DISPENSING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1, 1941 NYSA@ fi/Mw.-

. kept' absolutely clean;`

Patented Aug. 24, 1943 i uNl'lED 4STATES PATENT OFFICE i j y n 2,327,878 n n DISPLAY ANnllIsrliNsING MEANS? v f inward I nml, Brooklyn, N. Y., kassigner" to j Herbert Robinson and rOtto A. Golluber, doing 4ou's'l'lness under partnership name Robinson and Golluber, New York, N. Y. Application-February l, 1941, serial No. '377,027'

` n lolaim." (C Lrslgse) The rpresent invention is concerned with new and improved means' for the displaying land dispensing of lace', ribbons and similar materials.

Desiderate. indevices .fordisplaying and dis-` pensing lace; ribbon, braid A, and the like are, among other things; f

((1)1 That theval'ue of the material being displavedand to be dispensed beiprotected against y substantial impairment due to Vsoiling or other pt elidicial ifnl'ience', i" e. that thejnateri'al be (b') "I'l'iat'-tth housing oilcontainers for'the material, which is generally housed in reel form,

be of' a charvacterV such as'to facilitate unwinding 'and rewnding ofthelmatral; l n

(0)'. That. a" substantial strip or portion of the materialfbe'exposed to View soth'at prospective purchasers I nay'jappreciate the design, 'colorings or) other; qualities thereof;

(d) .That a Yplurality lof containers dr' housings foune matenal be capable qfljuxtaposltlon either `on.conventional shelving oi" on specially-constructed racks so that thelacelor other strip material' 'may beldisplayed. in related, or contrasted sets, ifdeslred: 1 yg I (e) Th 't exhausted'oontainersof'a display set maybe repleni'shable'or replaceable Without difoulty and "Without essentially disturbing other containers;V (f) That' the several containers be capable of use per se,. as distinguished'from use in associa# tion With'otherlcontainers; H

` (fg) .'Ihat means be provided. for xing or locking the' display material inadjusted positionn in the. periods. between dispensing. operations ;k etc. u

A primary 'object of" the presentinvention is the realization ofv novel and improved relationshipsuof parts'f which embody-.the above enumerated de-` sifderataxand also present otherand' further ad'- vantages` which "will become .readilyV apparent as the followiil'g`1detailedl'descriptionof. a presently-y preferredjelcernpl'ary ernbodilnent` of the inventien' DrUeSSeS'I- A In orderf that the` inventionmay more readily be understoodg'. theV` following detailed description isset forthwith reference to the illustrative showingv on the accompanying" sheets of` drawings, wherein? relatively enlarged scale, of a` detail according to Fig. Ltis La top plan View of the interior or a specimen blank for the production` of a container inaooordnwthth present invention; A

Refriingnrst to the supporting". Wire frame or rack shown more particularly in ;Fig'. 1 of the drawings, this frame comprises substantially 'L- shaped `"skeleton end members l, and` z lnter'onnted byV transverse struts 3, 4, 5, 6, l', 8, 9, |0, I I, I 2. and` I3 eictendingtherebetween. Y `1 The L-shaped configuration ofthese end meinbrs makes it possible to provide two relatively off-set supporting shelves positioned at different levels, one` shelf being arranged essentially in alignment vvith`the lower horizontally projecting portion ofthe L', vvll'ile the other is arranged at transverse struts 9 and I0 in the other.`

Fig, 1l illustrates,uin'pperspeotive, one method of reducingthepresent invention` tof practice, showi'nig the reguisite'meansjnthis' regard; f

Figi ,2ifsa cross' sectional view, vori a' relatively" enlarged's'cale; through acontainer, according to this' lnventinand-tnreugn theadl'acentf support-1 ingifrack partsi Struts 3 and 4 are connectedat their respec tiv'e yends'to rods I4 .and I5` which extend across `the lovv'erpart of end Walls I and] in adirection` substantially Walls. i. i. u Transverse, `struts 9 and I Il are connected'at theirrespetive ends to rods I6 and I1 which eig-` tend in substantially parallel relationship to rodsy I4 and liacross the upper part of end walls .I and 2 as illustrated,

parallel to the bottom of# the `said Containrs'- I8 for reels loflace,n ribbons or the like' to be displayed and/or dispensed mayfbe supportedin close adjacence to each other, if desired, lon the shelf bottoms thus defined b'y struts 3` and 4 andl 9` and Iilrespectively.

While undesired relative displacement l of wthe v containers! 8 Willnormally be prevented Vby means' extel'l'ding` therethrough as hereinafter disclosed, auxiliary means preventing said displacement of the several containers may be provided in the forrnof struts 6 and I I.

Similarly, skeleton shelf tops may be donned by pairs o`f struts "I, 8 and I2, `It resr'lectively.v While struts '8 and I3, the latter being of inverted elongated U-conguration, extend between thei skeletonv end Walls I and 2 of the device, struts. 1 and I2 preferably extend between price-tag suppoi-'ting uprights I9, I!!v and 2B, 2U respectively, these' being severally positioned as' shown on Fig.l 1` ,of` thedrawings. The severalupper ends of4 uprights [Sand 2,0 are bent back to a somewhat inclinqdpositionto provide meansV for the mount-A veniently be made of strips of sheetv metal, the longitudinal edges 22 of which may be flanged or bent over to provide tag receiving channels. These ilanges preferably terminate short of the sheet metal strips where the latter are bent into the form of substantially cylindricalv sleeves 23 adapted to fit over and upon the upper ends of uprightsA |9.andy 2li. `Price tags 24'may'be'arranged in the aforesaid channels in alignment with the corresponding lace or other displayed material to be identied thereby.

substantiauy dongated u-shaped rodszt depend from the tag-holding stripsk to which they may be secured as at 26. Any suitable securing means such as solder or the like may be used for aixing the various aboveand hereinafterdisclosed parts of the display rack to each other. It will, of course, be understood `that these several parts are preferably made of suitable metal.

A locking bar 21, which preferably serves s'i`- multaneously as a journal for the reels of lace or other material in the several containers I8, is providedfor each display series or sets. This bar rconsists essentially of a rod, preferably ofv a slightly larger cross sectional diameter than the rods which constitute the display rack, either end of the locking bar being bent substantiallyat right angles, as shown, to provide a handle 28. Means are provided on the display rack Vfor supporting the locking bars 21. Thus, journal loops 29, 29 are provided, in the spaced relationship shown on Fig. 1 of the drawings, on either one of the ends 0f the rack, while resilient locking bearings may conveniently be provided at, corresponding points 0n the other rack end. These lockingbearings severally comprise a depending rod 38 anda coacting depending rod 3| provided with an' offset, journal-deliningportion 32 intermediate its ends. rLlhe bearing seat deiined by portion 32 is somewhat smaller than the ldiame-r ter of barI 21s@ that, when the latter is in place, the parts 30, 3| are slightly sprung apart and resiliently retain the bar in place. These supporting means for bar 21 are, of course, so aligned that kthe bar may extend through the several containers |8 and through the several reels therein, substantially as shown.

It will be understood that the aforedescribed rack construction is primarily illustrative in character and that various minor modifications may benmade therein without departing from theoinventive concept upon which it is based.

Coming now more particularly to' a description ofv containers I8, it will be understood that while the drawings, for the lsake'of clearness, show only a few of the containers, two complete rows of contiguous containers may be accommodated on the preferred form of rack according to the present invention. VThe rack itself may preferably be of a size such that it is portable in character and thatitmay readily be superposed `upon a show case or the like, valthough the inventive concept is obviously not restricted to any particular dimensions. The containers are, of course, of a size commensurate with the rack size and, except for width which may vary according to the merchandise to be displayed and dispensed, these containers may be essential duplicates of each other. l

A specimen blank or pattern for the construction of the container according to this'invention is shown, by way of illustration, in Fig. 4 of the drawings. yIt will be understood that the dotted lines represent weakened or scored lines for folding purposes. The container blank may con- `are also provided for this purposein veniently be made of cardboard or other suitable material and, as shown, comprises substanof wall 34 to which it is securedl by glue or the like. i 1 l The blank additionally comprisesilaps 39, 40, 4| and 42. Flaps 39, in the folded box, are bent to a position directly under rear 38; while naps y 49 assume a position directly behind front 31.

Flap 4| slips intoplace between the sides of flapsA Y 39 and the inner surfaces of flap 34 and of side 39 while flap 42 is arranged between the sides' of flaps 49 andthe inner surface of side 33.

The result is a -sided box or container adapted to house a roll of lace or the like which, pref? erably, is mounted on a central reel hub or the like 4t', which may be made of wood or other suitable material. Hub 44 is preferably provided with a central bore 45 (Fig. 2) throughjwl'iich locking bar 21 is adapted to pass. Aligndz-.Cet tral openings 4S of any suitable conguiation rreach side as, sa of the container. i.. 'fj rEhe bottom 36 of the container is` provided with an outlet opening 41 through whichy the lace or other strip material may pass out of the ccnl tainer.l The Istrip material is then, preferably, threaded through opening 54 under thevfroht wall 31, passing therebetween and the-.juxtaposed i naps 43 which together are of an` extent rsubstantially equal to the extent of front 31. jIn order that the lace may bet visible, to ,Viewy as it passes under front wall `31 the latter is provided,with.V

an elongated window opening 48 cut 'out ltherey from and this window is, covered by transparent material 49 such as Cellophaneonthelike which is adhesively secured to theportions or the 'coni tainer surrounding. the window. Sides 33, 34 l'and flap 4| are provided with cut-.outs 50 which valign with each other when the container is folded tol'y gether to define what is essentially a singlec'ut;` out into'which the roll of lace or theV likeextends so that the quantity. o f material in 'the;contalner may be determinedl by inspection. The cut-out also provides access to the materialwhlchfcan thus be manually actuated to rewind excessof.

material which may have been pulled outoflth container.

' Rear 38 may be cut centrally thereof'to flaps 5|, 5| which are bendablevback to. thelpo'- sition shown in Fig. 2. This isan optional expef` dient, however, and these aps 5| may be enV tirely omitted, if desired. As shown1in, 1*`.i'g..1`of the drawings; the lace 43 or the like after.' it

leaves the box I8 at the'opening 52 at .the iront` to-p (see Fig. 3) may be guided'over rod 25fandA then extend rearwardly to the back of thecon-v tainer i8. The last-.mentioned opening 52 may readily be formed by cutting back the. flaps 40 as shown at 40 (Fig. 4), providing the somewhat rearwardly displaced line of bend ."52'. 'I'Openin'g '54 may besimilarly formed with the aid of Cutbacks liu and lineV of bend 54. When any con.` tainer becomes exhausted, bar 21 'is removedby pulling outwardly (i. e. `to the right as. seeniri Fig. 1) at handle 28. The containert'o bere# plenishedV or replaced may then be withdrawn from rthe rear. of the rack and refilled or a newV fi filled container may be returned to the position of the removed container without essentially. dise turbing the set-upor any other container. The

locking bar 21 is then returned to its originalV place. Removal of the bar 21 may sometimes cause disalignment of partially exhausted rolls of lace or the like. In this event it may be necessary to lift these particular rolls manuallyY through cut-out 50 to bring the corresponding bores 45 into the requisite alignment. While the containers i8 as above described are preferably to be used in association with thedescribed supporting rack, they may nevertheless also be used apart from or independently of this rack, for example on conventional shelving. Invsuch case, the free end of the lace, coming from the space 52 at the front top may be locked in place on the top of the box I8 through the medium of locking notch 53 which preferably is of a keyhole conguration, i. e. comprises a circular opening which is intersected by a V-notch. The lace or other material is pushed into the circular opening With ones ringer or with a pencil or the like and it becomes wedged or locked in the said notch, thus assuring fixed retention of the material against undesired displacement. The containers may, of course, also be used individually. It will be understood that the afore-described detailed description of the containers is primarily illustrative in character and that minor modifications may be made therein without departing from the inventive concept upon which such construction -is based.

Having described the claimed is:

A display device of the character described, particularly adapted for displaying and dispensing lace, ribbon, braid and the like material, and consisting essentially of a one-piece blank of sheet material foldable to provide a container for housing` said material to be displayed and dispensed, said blank including a section dening and constituting the front Wall of said container, said section being provided with a Window-opening therein, a transparent cover for said opening integrally associated with said blank and extending over the entire extent of said opening, and means for dening a passageway behind and essentially coextensive with said front wall between the latter and thev material in the container when the blank is folded into container form, whereby the material may pass through said passageway along essentially the entire extent of said front invention, what is wall.

EDWARD EZROL. 

